Your Facebook 'Friend' is a spy

The average person usually joins social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter to get to know others better. However, as the Dutch secret services AIVD (General Intelligence and Security Service) and MIVD (Military Intelligence and Security Service) point out, people should be careful when placing information on their personal sites.
 
Intelligence agencies often use social networking sites for more sinister purposes. On Friday, the Dutch intelligence agencies began a campaign to warn of the dangers of digital espionage. They say that foreign intelligence services often use these sites to gather information about people.

The intelligence services have published three brochures to inform potential target groups about the dangers. The brochure on 'digital espionage' describes the dangers of infected emails, visiting infected websites and how infected USB sticks are sometimes handed out as promotional gifts at conferences. In addition, social networking sites such as Facebook can also be an interesting source of information for foreign intelligence services.

“You do not have to avoid using Facebook, Hyves [a Dutch social networking site] and other similar sites, but you should keep in mind that they are available to third parties. Espionage is not something from thirty years ago. It is something which exists today in many different forms, and especially in the digital world.” READ MORE